Reviewed by Stephen Luff

The Black Dyke Band is the most recorded band in the world with over 300 recordings and the list is growing every year. It is also the most successful contesting band in the world having won the European Championships 11 times, most recently in 2005, the British Open no fewer than 29 times ,and the National Championships of Great Britain 22 times (most recently 2009)! In June 2009 the band became Champion Band at the English National Championships. With all this, the band has built up a large body of work at their concerts. This series explores this, conducted here by the highly acclaimed Nicholas J Childs. The opener, "When Thunder Calls" written by Paul Lovatt-Cooper, one of the most featured writers in their concerts, builds up after a quiet start (like a storm!), into an atmospheric masterpiece. Other highlights includes an enjoyable version of Dave Brubeck's masterpiece "Blue Rondo A' La Turk" (the original flipside to "Take Five" when it first came out on a single) and a superb Euphonium solo by Gary Curtin on "Resurgam", with several interesting variations contained within the piece! I was a little disappointed with the version of the Easter Hymn "There Is A Green Hill Far Away" which to my mind lacked some musical definition in its delivery, so failing to keep my listening attention. However, it's not hard to see why Black Dyke Band has been so successful based on this collection.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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